Always
by Kuroi Neko-kun
Summary: [CSI-CSI Miami] Cross Jurisdictions Series: Pairings: [Speed-Sara][Horatio-Gil] Valentine’s Day draws closer but a pair of Vegas CSIs, working on a surprise case, has started missing their Miami counterparts.


Always 

By: Kuroi Neko-kun

Summary: Valentine's Day draws closer but a pair of Vegas CSIs, working on a case, has started missing their Miami counterparts.

Continuation: Lonely Hearts, Emotions Taking Over

A/N: Since ff.net ruins the usual paragraphing, this "~~~" means it's a new paragraph.

I decided to write this because Valentine's Day is growing near. And this is to celebrate the premiere of CSI season 4 on AXN-Asia! 11 Feb 2004 @ 9PM! Yeah!

-------------------------------------------------------

Always by Bon Jovi

-------------------------------------------------------

And I will love you, baby - Always   
And I'll be there forever and a day - Always   
I'll be there till the stars don't shine   
Till the heavens burst and   
The words don't rhyme   
And I know when I die, you'll be on my mind   
And I'll love you - Always

-------------------------------------------------------

Sara sighed for the nth time as she stared at the phone. She just ended a simple case with Nick and had ample time to herself. She took Gil's advice to return home and rest up. But resting was not part of Sara Sidle's life. So she sat at the coffee table and waited. Tim usually would have called her by now, asking about her. She missed him dearly. It had been three months since he had left. Even so, she was still very much in love with him. Maybe they connected so well that it was hard to let go such opportunity. She hugged herself, remembering the things they did together during the two weeks. It took two weeks for her to completely fall in love. That was a record since she had always felt that love was not a need but a want. She sighed, missing him again. She took a glance at the calendar. She had marked the fourteenth of that month with a heart. Now she sat there and hoped. 

~~~

Gil was not used to this feeling at all. It was only a month since he sent the man he had fallen in love with home. His heart was skipping beats at every call made to his office or home since. Horatio would call once or twice a day. And each call would make Gil near teary. He had wanted to scold the redhead for making him wait. But his common sense shouted back to him every time that he could have called. Both of them had found it hard to hang up but they have too. A case would roll in between them. Horatio would usually promise to call back. And he did, only to be interrupted by another case. Gil was annoyed but he understood. There was nothing he could do except hang up and sigh. Both of them were supervisors of crime labs. It happens. Now he sat and stared at the phone. He waited long enough. He picked it up and called Horatio's cell. It rung twice.

"Caine," Horatio said on the other line.

"Hey," Gil mumbled. He knew Horatio was happy to hear from him. The tone from his tired voice changed.

"Hey Gil, the case over?" he asked.

"I handed it to Sara." Gil stopped there, not wanting to talk about any case. "So, are you free now?"

"Like a bird," Horatio quipped. Gil chuckled at that. At least now they can talk.

~~~

"So Valentine's Day," Catherine said as she sat down beside Sara," it's on a weekend." They were at the break room with the others, waiting for a case from Gil.

"Yeah, so?" Sara said, not paying much attention. She was deep in thought. Cat gripped her arm.

"Do you have plans?" she asked. Sara blinked at the older woman before finally realizing what she meant. Sara grinned.

"Yeah… I have plans." Catherine gave her a knowing look. At least Sara is finally happy. She sighed. She had zero plans. 

"I guess I'll be dating the set with Lindsey…" she drawled, looking hopefully at the other two. Nick shook his head.

"Sorry, Cath. My date will be pissed if I brought Lindsey out on Valentine's Day," he quipped. Catherine gave him a look before turning to Warrick, who blinked before sighing. Catherine was going to pull a pout if he didn't agree.

"Okay, okay…" he muttered," I'll make plans for you and Lindsey." The blond beamed. "Why can't you ask Grissom? You usually accompany him for V-day."

"He's got plans on that day. For the whole weekend, in fact," Cat explained. All of them stared at her like she grew three heads. 

"With who? His bugs?" Nick asked only to realize too late that Gil was at the doorway.

"It's none of your business," he said gruffly before handing him an assignment slip. "You're with Cat on this one." Nick sighed, ducking from Gil's glare. He should've kept his mouth shut.

~~~

She could not stop smiling as she stared at the clock. Her bags were packed and she was planning to leave as soon as her shift's over. She had finished her case. Now she was circling the break room, humming 'Leaving On a Jet Plane'. Greg entered, giving her the weirdest look.

"Aren't you a jumpy rabbit?" He said, pouring himself a cup of his Blue Hawaiian. Sara grinned, which made him back up a bit. It was a while since he saw Sara so excited and happy. 

"Can't wait till shift's over…" _That_ was new.

"You've still got an hour and there's work to be done," Greg muttered, glancing at the clock.

"Wow, you sound like Grissom," she commented.

"Yeah and he sounds like me. It's like his soul possessed me and mine possessed him. I swear that he would skip around the halls and dance to Britney if he wanted too. Looks like cupid's arrow finally penetrated Gil Grissom's tough hide," he said, smirking. 

"What makes you think Gil's in love?"

"Only love can give you that dreamy look in your eyes. And I saw it in Grissom's. It scared the hell out of me." Sara laughed. 

"I can imagine—" Before she could continue, the man of the hour entered the break room. 

"Sara, thank god," he said," I got a call from Brass and—" He trailed off, staring at her. She was giving him a desperate look. 

"Not tonight…" she mumbled," please Griss…"

"I need you now, Sara and I was hoping that there wouldn't be a case till after my shift too," he said. 

"Woah, now _this_ is too weird," Greg commented. Gil gave him a look, asking him to leave. As soon as he left, he turned back to a tearing Sara. She had plans and now Gil was hindering her. Again. She felt her temper about to flare. But she saw the disappointed look in Grissom's eyes. It mirrored her own. She finally realized that Greg was right. And he did have plans too. 

"Oh my god," she mumbled, wiping her tears," you're in love too, huh?" Gil gave her a look before nodding slightly. 

"We're doing this together," Gil said, smiling sadly at her.

~~~

"I'm really sorry, Tim," Sara mumbled. She had called him to tell the news. She would not be able to make it to her plane. She had a case to solve. And she was Gil's last hope on this. 

"It's okay, Sara," he mumbled, trying to hide his disappointment in his voice," there's always another day."

"Tim, I'll make it up to you, okay?" she said, hoping that he wouldn't be so disappointed. 

"Okay," he mumbled. She whispered her 'I love you' before hanging up. It was then Gil came over to her, car keys in hand. His eyes were puffed. Was Gil crying? '_He must've called his date…'_ She pushed her thoughts aside before climbing into the Tahoe. 

"Are you okay?" she asked as he started the car. He nodded slightly, not trusting his voice. So the two CSIs drove to the crime scene, with pained hearts and disappointed counterparts.

~~~

The redhead let out a disappointed sigh before he walked down the lane to the break room. He needed coffee for comfort's sake. He was not going to see his lover on Valentine's Day and it hit him hard. The worse part was Gil knowing that he was going to ruin Sara's and Tim's as well. As he entered the break room, he saw Tim staring at his cell phone. He must've gotten off the phone with Sara. Boy was he devastated… He sat beside Tim. He had not realized that his boss was beside him. Moments ago, he was boasting to Eric that his girl was coming down for Valentine's Day. Now… he's got nothing to talk about. Horatio handed him a cup of coffee.

"She's not coming?" 

"Yeah… I guess this means a lot to me. I've spent all my Valentine's Days alone, why not another year?" he sarcastically said, smirking. Horatio could not say much. He, too, was feeling the pain of being alone on such a special day. It was then an idea struck the older man's head.

"We both took leave for the weekend, Speed," he pointed out. Tim turned to him, confused.

"So?"

"Why don't we head to Vegas instead of moping?" he said. Tim was now staring at him boss, contemplating the idea. What will H earn from all this? 

"Okay, you and me… go to Vegas?" he said," I understand the 'me' part but why are you heading there?" Horatio gave him a small smile, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing. Tim was oblivious to that. He was just confused.

~~~

"Sara, where are you going?" Gil asked as he watched her carry an evidence bag. She was supposed to head to Trace. 

"Trace, why?" she said, absentmindedly. 

"Trace is that way," he pointed to the other direction. She blinked before slapping her forehead. 

"Sorry… I guess I wasn't…"

"Paying attention," Gil continued for her, sighing soon after. "Sara, I know that you wanted to spend your weekend with Tim and I'm sorry that I forced you to make a sacrifice too large…" She stopped him by raising her hand. 

"You made the same sacrifice, Griss," she said," this is more that I can imagine."

"I'm sorry. What can I do for your forgiveness, Miss Sidle?" Sara smirked at him. 

"Who is the light of your life, Griss? Who's got the key to your heart?" Gil gave her a look. There was no way he was going to reveal _that_. 

"It's a secret, Sara," he said, about to turn back when she caught his arm. 

"Come on, Gil! What is so special about her?" Gil just grinned at that, catching Sara by surprise. 

"Go to Trace, Sara," he said, an unfamiliar lilt in his voice.

~~~

Her apartment just felt too big all of a sudden. Strangely, she loved it when she bought it. But that was all before Tim came into her life. Now she felt lonelier. Sara sprawled herself onto her couch, contemplating on showering and making a very important phone call. But as her head rested on the comfortable cushions on her couch, her eyes began to droop.

~~~

She was awakened by a warm kiss on her lips. Her eyes fluttered open slowly as she glanced at her awakener. She smiled before stretching slightly. _'This is a great dream… Tim waking me up, like a princess.'_ She curled up, reaching out for his hand. It was warm.

"Hey princess," he mumbled," wake up." 

"I want this dream to last, Tim," she whispered," You're not really here. And I want to spend Valentine's Day with you even if it is a dream." Tim touched her face.

"It's not, sweetheart," he whispered kissing her again. Sara's eyes opened wide, slightly startled by the warm real kiss. When they broke apart, she was smiling at him.

"Tim!" she said, hugging him," how? Why?"

"I don't want to spend St. Valentine's alone," he explained," I hope you didn't have plans." She kissed him again.

"I do now," she said, in between kisses. 

~~~

The champagne he bought was left untouched, and it was not going anywhere. Just staying in his fridge till he decides to drink it. He, like Sara, planned to head to Miami and enjoy his stay with the company of Horatio Caine. Grissom was holding the report from Greg, who noticed his mood change. He had told Sara to go home, at least enjoy the phone call. Her weekend was already ruined. She didn't need more reason to split. He planned to head to the Trace lab when he passed his office. The door was slightly open. It was strange to him because he always kept the door close when he was out. He crept in, hoping not to startle the intruder. But as soon as he stepped in, his jaw dropped. He recognized the familiar shape of the redhead who was busy pouring the champagne into a couple of glasses.

"Horatio?" he mumbled, blinking in disbelief. The man turned and smiled.

"You shouldn't keep food and drinks with your experiments, Gil," he said. Gil had taken off his glasses and started to rub his eyes. "What? Did I startle you?"

"I'm just checking whether I've missed you too much."

"You're not hallucinating, Gil," Horatio assured him. 

"I'm just not sure…" he mumbled, closing the door behind him. Horatio handed him a glass. Gil just held it in his hand. The redhead gave him a playful look.

"What do I have to do to prove my existence?" he whispered. Gil knew exactly what he meant. He placed the glass of champagne on his desk before kissing Horatio. As they broke off, Gil smirked.

"Feels real," he quipped, sliding his hands around the smaller man's waist. 

"Oh, now you believe me," the redhead drawled. He pulled Gil for another kiss, their champagne forgotten.

-------------------------------------------------------

**Fin **


End file.
